Description
The famous “Silk Road” that Marco Polo traveled on his trip to China still exists. Today, huge container trucks navigate a barren landscape connecting China to the major commercial centers of Europe. This journey takes ten days and covers 10,000 kilometers. A large section of this road trip is through Kazakhstan, the heart of Central Asia. We have presented a concept for a series of truck stops and rest areas that will include a motel, spa, medical facilities, a gas station, service center, convenience store and a restaurant that spans the highway. Kazakhstan is the largest land-locked country in Central Asia. The land is rich in natural resources with a relatively small population. The old “Silk Road” cuts through Kazakhstan serving as the main over-land route connecting China with Europe. Forty large container trucks traverse this barren landscape every hour, making it one of the busiest highways in the world. Basic infrastructure to service this volume of traffic is lacking and we were asked to present ideas on improving facilities along the highway. Our solution was a “Silk Road Station”, developed every 200 kilometers along the 3000-kilometer length of the highway.